Wine Country: New Zealand

Wine Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc

Another delicious rendition of our favorite Kiwi Sauv Blanc. Hits all the high notes and none of the bad ones! 

The New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc category has become a tough one to navigate these days as the shelves that used to have two or three examples are now bursting with a dozen or more.  What’s a consumer to do?  And most of those newcomers screaming for your attention, to be honest, are overcropped, screamingly pungent and, well, not very good.  Faster than you can say ‘Aussie Shiraz,’ wine marketers have found a new way to kill a Golden Goose, right?  But the good ones are still the good ones, and the best estates in the best areas are still producing the kind of interesting, distinctive Kiwi Sauvignon that created the excitement in the first place.  Is there any better than Greywacke?  Named after the unique river rock soil series on which it’s grown and made by Kevin Judd, the longtime visionary who put the wines of Cloudy Bay on the world’s radar, this has been for years now the Marlborough quality leader- a serious Sauvignon Blanc that aims for richness, complexity and balance rather than the simple sweet-sour profile many exhibit thanks to the common practice of harvesting young, still underripe fruit and blending them with later-harvested, sweeter, low acidity grapes. The just-arrived 2023 Greywacke Sauvignon is a worthy follow-up to the Wine Spectator #9 Wine of the Year winning 2022- a pleasingly rich and satisfying on the palate despite its amazing set of lively, lifted aromatics: a hit of freshly crushed lemongrass gives way to floral notes of jasmine, fennel, dried honey and acacia that hint at something more lithe.  The mid-palate gains richness from some extended lees contact in tank and a portion fermented in neutral barrel.  The finish is all juicy mineral and natural tang, making it a mouthwatering partner to all kinds of food. With summer salads, warm goat cheese, any kind of fish or seafood or crustacean you can find or all on its own, Greywacke SB will deliver the goods!  And, really, it’s still priced to compete with the Big Boys of NZ Sauv Blanc, and that makes it one of the best deals you’ll ever find!